A Second Chance
by spaceman-earthgirl
Summary: Root gets an opportunity she never thought she'd have, a chance to talk to Shaw's mother.


Set post series but everyone is still alive and happy and they defeated Samaritan together.

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Person of Interest or the characters.**

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Sometimes Root couldn't believe it, how normal their lives had become. Well normal for a group of people who save and kneecap people on a regular basis anyway. Since Samaritan's defeat, things have slowly settled down, back to the way it used to be, no longer having to worry about an all-seeing AI trying to kill them on a regular basis.

Things between her and Shaw have changed too. Ever since Shaw's return for Samaritan, they have been living together, they have a life together. One where the spend time alone together, make plans together and sleep together on a regular basis. It was so much better than Root had ever hoped their life could be, back when she first realised she'd had actual feelings for the tiny killer who had once shot her. They ever had a regular coffee shop, which surprised Root in the normality of it all, still sometimes disbelieving of the life she now shares with Shaw.

Said coffee shop was where they were now. Well, Root was, Shaw was outside taking a call from Harold. This was the shop they came to most mornings to get their coffee and assorted pastries before they headed into the subway station.

This morning was going the same as every other morning, Root had ordered their coffee, picked several pastries she knew Shaw would like before she turned to take a step back to let the next person in line order. It was going exactly as normal until her eyes fell on a woman who was a few spaces back in the queue, someone who was the spitting image of Shaw.

"Sameen?" The name was out of Root's mouth before she could stop it and the woman's eyes widened in response, her mouth falling open in shock.

"You knew my daughter?"

Root's eyes widened as she realised what she'd just done. Her eyes darted around the café, hoping no one had overheard them, several of the barista's of course still knew that Shaw was alive and well and said woman was standing just outside the coffee shop right now.

Root took a step closer to the woman in front of her, hand slipping into her pocket to call Shaw so she could let her know what was happening, that by some random coincidence her mother was in the same coffee shop that she was.

Root nodded, "yeah, we…" she paused, realising that Shaw's mother thought she'd died while she was still a marine, "we were friends, my brother's a marine too, he introduced us."

Shaw's voice came through the earpiece then, the one she had subtly clicked on while pretending to brush her hair behind her ear, "is that my mother?"

Root's eyes flicked over to the cafe window and saw Shaw standing there, slack-jawed, as she stared at the woman in front of Root, it was definitely her mother. Shaw stepped out of sight then and Root knew what that meant, that she didn't want her mother to know what she was alive. Shaw was lucky, the ISA had led her mother to believe she'd died as a marine, unlike what they'd done to Cole. They'd talked about it before, letting her mother know that she was alive after they'd defeated Samaritan, but Shaw had decided to continue to let her mother believe she was dead. She didn't want to put her in danger and her job now was still unpredictable and dangerous. There might come a day where things go wrong and she doesn't want her mother to have to lose her twice.

"Can you talk to her?" If that's what Shaw wanted, then Root would do this for her.

Shaw's mother looked unsure of what to say now so Root spoke again, "would you like to sit and talk? I'd love to hear about Sameen when she was younger."

Before Root received a reply, her name was being called and she collected her drinks and pastries only to turn around to see her looking uncertain again.

"You're meeting someone?"

"They can wait, they'll understand. Why don't you order and I'll meet you outside? We can go to the park down the street?" Root didn't want to risk anyone in the shop overhearing their conversation.

Sameen's mother smiled widely in response and Root relaxed as she smiled in return, "I'm Samantha, by the way, I'll see you outside in a minute."

She left Sameen's mother standing in line as she made her way outside to find Shaw waiting for her.

"Are you ok?" Root asked, handing Shaw her coffee and three of the four pastries she bought. Shaw may pretend she was going to save two of them for Finch and Reese, but Root knew those pastries were never going to make it back to the station.

Shaw nodded, her expression unreadable, "I never thought I'd see her again."

"You could walk in there right now and tell her you're alive if you want," Root replied but she already knew that Shaw wouldn't do that.

Shaw shook her head, "just tell her I was happy the way my life turned out, that I don't regret anything."

Root nodded.

"I better go before she sees me, I'll go deal with the new number and I'll meet you at the station later."

Root gave Shaw a quick kiss on the cheek, "I'll leave the comms on so you can listen in if you like."

Shaw rolled her eyes at the kiss but was glad for the small comfort it gave her. One last glance through the shop window and she was gone, leaving Root to wait for Shaw's mother.

A few minutes passed and then she arrived, eyeing the single coffee cup and pastry that was now in Root's hands.

"My friend left, she understood that I'd want to talk to you."

They set off together to the park down the street, walking in silence while drinking their coffee. It wasn't until they'd found an empty park bench and were seated that her mother spoke, "how close were you and Sam?

Root smiled, "we were very close, she didn't like me very much when we first met but over time she realised how great I was." That end part of the sentence was mostly for Shaw, knowing that she was listening in.

Through her earpiece Root heard Shaw scoff, "I didn't like you very much? I hated you. I shot you, remember?" There was a pause before Shaw continued, "but you can tell her about us."

Root continued on speaking as if she hadn't been interrupted, her voice taking on a sad tone as she spoke, "I thought we were going to spend the rest of our lives together."

Her mother's eyes widened when she realised what Root had just implied, "you two were together?"

Root nodded, "for two years, before…you know…" Root trailed off, eyes downcast, always good at playing the roles she needed to.

"I'm glad she found someone," her mother replied and Root was surprised when she felt a hand covering her own. She looked up and it was weird, seeing someone who looked so much like Shaw, be so expressive.

"Can you tell me more about her?" About you?" She asked, removing her hand from Root's as she sat back up straight again. Root knew that this was what Shaw had wanted, to give her mother a glimpse at her life before she'd "died", to give her some closure.

"We met through my brother, John, as I mentioned before," Root began, smiling when she saw the way Sameen's mother's eyes lit up as she spoke. "Sameen certainly wasn't my biggest fan when we first met but over time we grew closer. We were going to move in together, when she was home. We even had a dog."

Root pulled out her phone then, finding a picture she'd taken of Shaw recently, of Shaw smiling while she petted Bear.

Her mother smiled, "Sam did always seem to like dogs more than people." Root scrolled across to the next photo which was one of Shaw glaring at the camera when she'd realised that Root was taking a photo of her and her mother laughed, "there's my Sameen."

Her smile slowly faded and she looked like she wanted to say something so Root waited while they both continued to look at the photo of Shaw.

Eventually, her mother spoke "that didn't bother you, did it? That she was different from most people?" Shaw had told Root that her mother had always been accepting of her, even though others saw her as different, that people had called her broken. Root knew she was asking out of curiosity, wondering if her daughter had found someone who accepted her for who she was.

Root shook her head, smiling as she spoke, "no, she may have been different but I loved her exactly the way she was."

Root was acutely aware that Shaw could hear her as she said this. "I love you" was something Root had only ever said twice to Shaw and Shaw had never said it back. Not that she wanted her to, Root knew how much Shaw cared for her and Shaw always preferred actions over words anyway, she did technically die for her after all.

The first time Root had said it had been not long after she'd been shot in their final stages of taking down Samaritan. After Reese and Shaw had found Harold and they'd taken down Samaritan together, Shaw had shown up at the hospital to visit her which resulted in Root convincing Shaw to take her home instead.

Home, that had been something new to both of them back then. Ever since Shaw's return from Samaritan, they'd been staying at one of Harold's safe houses together, the house they have now been sharing for the past year.

Shaw had just tucked Root into bed, telling her to call out to her if she needed anything. Shaw was almost out of the room when she heard those three words from behind her, "I love you."

Shaw turned around in surprise, taking note of the panicked look on Root's face, like she hadn't meant to say the words out loud. Shaw had been surprised when she didn't feel panic well up inside her herself. She took three steps back to the bed and leant over Root whose eyes were wide, smiling as she did. She placed a kiss on Root's forehead, "I know, get some rest." Root wasn't sure she'd every felt as happy as she did in that moment.

That very next morning, when Root had woken to find Shaw lying in bed next to her, Root had said those words again, wanting Shaw to know how much she meant them. She'd realised that she'd almost died and that Shaw needed to know how she felt. But Root also wanted Shaw to know that she didn't need it reciprocated, that she was happy with Shaw, whether she said the words back or not, whether she felt that way or not. Shaw had said something after that, something that was undoubtedly better than those three words, that meant more to her than anything, "be more careful next time, I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

They don't talk about feelings often, they don't need to, they both know how the other feels and that's all that matters.

"I'm glad she found someone like you," her mother smiled and Root smiled widely at the addition of "like you" from her earlier words. Root was glad she could give her this, let her know that Shaw had been happy before she'd "died." Granted, most of this story was made up but it's the feelings that are most important anyway.

Shaw's voice came through her earpiece, "Root, we need you," and then a text came through to her phone telling she was needed at work, for Shaw's mothers benefit.

Root looked sad, again, playing the part of grieving girlfriend, "I'm sorry, something's come up at work and I have to go."

"That's ok Dear, I've taken up enough of your time already, it was nice being able to talk about Sameen again," her mother said, smile genuine as she placed a comforting had over Root's again.

Root pulled out a business card from her pocket, one that said she worked in IT and while her first name was Samantha, her last name was one of the various aliases she had, "feel free to call me if you ever want to talk again."

Root was surprised when Shaw's mother pulled her into a hug, she really was the complete opposite of Shaw.

"Thank you, for everything," her mother said, smiling still as she pulled away. Root watched her walk away, wondering how Shaw was feeling about all of this. But there wasn't time to talk about it now, not with the information The Machine was feeding her about their current number.

XXX

Later the next morning, when they'd finally arrived home after their long mission, Shaw finally voiced a thought that she'd been having all day, "did you set that up? Meeting my mother I mean?" There was no way that the machine could've missed the fact that her mother was in the same coffee shop as them.

"I had nothing to do with it," Root replied honestly, "but…"

"But?"

"She saw your mother was going to be in the area and took the opportunity-"

Shaw cut her off, "The opportunity to what?"

Root watched Shaw carefully as they entered their bedroom, "to give you both closure."

Shaw paused, "well, tell Her to stay out of my business from now on." Shaw was secretly grateful for what Root had done, she didn't like that The Machine had interfered in her business but she was glad her mother got the chance to see into her life. She may not be able to love but she does care for her mother and she knew her mother loved her and would be happy that she could talk to Root today.

"Don't worry, we've had words, and she'll keep an eye on your mother too, make sure you don't almost run into her again." Root watched Shaw carefully but she couldn't tell what she was feeling, usually couldn't unless Shaw let her see.

"Good," Shaw said as she flopped down on their bed, tired from their long day.

Root settled down next to her, both on their backs as they lay silently next to each other. It didn't take long for the silence to break though as Root rolled over, looking expectantly at Shaw and Shaw knew exactly what that look meant.

Shaw wasn't a big cuddler, never had been, but she'd found out early in their relationship that Root was and she could always tell when she wanted to cuddle, which was exactly the look she was giving her now. Said look was very similar to the "let's have sex" look that Root had perfected, minus the raised eyebrow and leer that would usually accompany it. She was sure she'd be on the receiving end of that look right now if she wasn't so tired.

Shaw lifted her arm, rolling her eyes, "come here."

Root shifted over, slotting herself against Shaw's side as Shaw wrapped her arm around her so Root was tucked up against her side and Shaw could feel her grinning against her neck. Shaw may not be the biggest fan of cuddling but she knew Root liked it so she let her. And ever since both their brushes with death, it was reassuring to have Root so close, to know she was safe in her arms and she new Root felt the same way about her.

"Thank you," Shaw whispered as they'd settled down to sleep, tensing as she did, she didn't like talking about feelings but she wanted Root to know that her speaking to her mother meant something to her.

Root pressed a kiss to Shaw's neck and then she felt the grin return to Root's face and Shaw knew she was going to say something, probably something inappropriate to make Shaw relax again.

"I knew you liked my hugs," Root grinned and Shaw was actually surprised that it wasn't something dirty.

Shaw rolled her eyes in response, not bothering to reply because while she may not be a big fan of hugs in general, Root did give pretty good hugs.

They fell asleep not long later, in the comfort of each other's arms, and it should surprise both of them how normal their private lives had become but it didn't, it just felt right.


End file.
